Why are certain charters on the top of everyone's lists? What is the magic that makes them so loved?

[Anonymous]

As several posters have mentioned, test scores often stand in for or augment information about the demographics of the school. It's the difference between poor people who care about education and poor people who don't care about education, I guess. No offense to any posters who care about test scores, it's just what I've observed.

I also think that there is a group of charters that get hyped up, especially on this board, and others that this board loves to hate. Basically any school classified as a highly regarded charter school. I personally find the high regard for schools like Lee and Creative Minds and Mundo Verde fairly mind-boggling, since these schools are really so new that it's hard to get a sense of how they will perform (both test scores-wise and also "how my child feels about school" wise). I know people who have kids at all of the schools I mentioned and only one of them is a serious evangelist for the school. The rest of them are satisfied, but not completely blissed out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most HRCS have barriers to entry of one sort of another -- originally it was the individual lottery application process, now it's the siblings of those who got in initially -- that exclude the city's poor and disenfranchised.

Their absence makes everyone else feel better. It's called "creaming".

You can try and call it "creaming" but ultimately it's not the charters selecting students, it's families self-selecting themselves into charters.

[Anonymous]

Charters that actually have some meaningful number of high SES or white families. I don't want my kid to be the ONLY white kid and at our IB, she would be one of about 4 white kids in the entire school. I see the way the other kids act on the playground and the bullying she would endure is not worth the effort of trying to make the school work. Hgiher SES kids tend to have significantly less behavioral problems. Another factor for charters that do have a higher number of AA or poor kids is the location. Is it clear that the parents have to make an effort to get their kids to school every day> That usually means the parents also give a damn about education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^ this. It's not about scores for me. My kids Re at SWS, have vastly different personalities, but all receive exactly what they need to in any given day.

I'm less concerned how my kid might do on the DC-CAS than whether or not she wants to go to school every day, and is being taught in a manner that is interesting and fun.

I actually won't be surprised if SWS' scores don't come back amazing this year, for me, who has been at the school for 4 years, it will be a testament to their Reggio ideology. There is more to life than nailing down the grammar, and it will all come when it comes. I'm so thrilled and so grateful that I get to send my DCs into a place every day that encourages their wonder, and where they feel loved. They legitimately are loved, and that is such a gift. The staff respects and enjoys each other and they teach the kids to make connections in their lives to look at the silver lining. THAT makes it a coveted schools, not the scores.

It's not Reggio, it's the fact that kids that don't have significant problems at home are much easier to teach. Less behavior problems = less distractions. Easy breezy.

[Anonymous]

The magic that put a charter at the top of my list:

The school has to have arts and music programming, has to have foreign language focus or integration. I wanted a school where play was a regular part of the administrators vocabulary for early childhood.

When I visited the school I didn't want to see order and hear silence, I wanted pictures on the wall and hear laughter and children running around. There should be parents smiling and treating you - even as a stranger. It should be a warm, welcoming place, not a cold sterile prison looking building.

[Anonymous]

When the prospective parents toured the school, they liked the facility, the zeitgeist and the luxury SUVs the other prospective parents were driving.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When the prospective parents toured the school, they liked the facility, the zeitgeist and the luxury SUVs the other prospective parents were driving.

You can mock that luuxuy SUV but those are often the parents who actually donate a shit ton of money to the PTA for the extras that make a school highly regarded. My IB doesn't even have a PTA instead they have some BS parents program to help the parents learn ELL. is that important? yes but I am not giving a dime to that. they get serious about what the high achieving kids need and what their parents want, then we can raise at least 25k the first year and 50k the second year. Thus drawing more high SES families.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ this. It's not about scores for me. My kids Re at SWS, have vastly different personalities, but all receive exactly what they need to in any given day.

I'm less concerned how my kid might do on the DC-CAS than whether or not she wants to go to school every day, and is being taught in a manner that is interesting and fun.

I actually won't be surprised if SWS' scores don't come back amazing this year, for me, who has been at the school for 4 years, it will be a testament to their Reggio ideology. There is more to life than nailing down the grammar, and it will all come when it comes. I'm so thrilled and so grateful that I get to send my DCs into a place every day that encourages their wonder, and where they feel loved. They legitimately are loved, and that is such a gift. The staff respects and enjoys each other and they teach the kids to make connections in their lives to look at the silver lining. THAT makes it a coveted schools, not the scores.

It's not Reggio, it's the fact that kids that don't have significant problems at home are much easier to teach. Less behavior problems = less distractions. Easy breezy.

You're familiar with the school pp? Because I'm there every day and I see the administration handling "problem kids" every single day in a positive manner - and with the attention they deserve. SWS is not a place with tons of kids who experience a rough home life, this is true, but it's not devoid of them and the lucky few who get to walk in the door every day and be greeted with calm love deserve it. It's also not devoid of rich kids with serious spectrum and ADD/ADHD disorders - so if you think it's all "easy breezy" you've clearly never stepped foot inside.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When the prospective parents toured the school, they liked the facility, the zeitgeist and the luxury SUVs the other prospective parents were driving.

You can mock that luuxuy SUV but those are often the parents who actually donate a shit ton of money to the PTA for the extras that make a school highly regarded. My IB doesn't even have a PTA instead they have some BS parents program to help the parents learn ELL. is that important? yes but I am not giving a dime to that. they get serious about what the high achieving kids need and what their parents want, then we can raise at least 25k the first year and 50k the second year. Thus drawing more high SES families.

Why are you so proud to leave the parents of your kids' friends in need?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ this. It's not about scores for me. My kids Re at SWS, have vastly different personalities, but all receive exactly what they need to in any given day.

I'm less concerned how my kid might do on the DC-CAS than whether or not she wants to go to school every day, and is being taught in a manner that is interesting and fun.

I actually won't be surprised if SWS' scores don't come back amazing this year, for me, who has been at the school for 4 years, it will be a testament to their Reggio ideology. There is more to life than nailing down the grammar, and it will all come when it comes. I'm so thrilled and so grateful that I get to send my DCs into a place every day that encourages their wonder, and where they feel loved. They legitimately are loved, and that is such a gift. The staff respects and enjoys each other and they teach the kids to make connections in their lives to look at the silver lining. THAT makes it a coveted schools, not the scores.

It's not Reggio, it's the fact that kids that don't have significant problems at home are much easier to teach. Less behavior problems = less distractions. Easy breezy.

You're familiar with the school pp? Because I'm there every day and I see the administration handling "problem kids" every single day in a positive manner - and with the attention they deserve. SWS is not a place with tons of kids who experience a rough home life, this is true, but it's not devoid of them and the lucky few who get to walk in the door every day and be greeted with calm love deserve it. It's also not devoid of rich kids with serious spectrum and ADD/ADHD disorders - so if you think it's all "easy breezy" you've clearly never stepped foot inside.

NP - yes, but the small number of these kids makes it possible to focus and give attention. Imagine if there were more of them than could be greeted and loved daily by the small administration. The teachers would have to handle (or fail to handle) much more. Eventually this would overwhelm them and start affecting the other kids in the class. People who could leave would leave just concentrating the population more. Diverse socio-economics are really really good for kids. Homogeneous school - not so much IMHO.

[Anonymous]

Historically SWS has let in very well connected and highly educated parents who were not even on the wait list. I am very glad that wait lists will be centrally managed this year. No more cherry picking shenanigans.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Charters that actually have some meaningful number of high SES or white families. I don't want my kid to be the ONLY white kid and at our IB, she would be one of about 4 white kids in the entire school. I see the way the other kids act on the playground and the bullying she would endure is not worth the effort of trying to make the school work. Hgiher SES kids tend to have significantly less behavioral problems. Another factor for charters that do have a higher number of AA or poor kids is the location. Is it clear that the parents have to make an effort to get their kids to school every day> That usually means the parents also give a damn about education.

This comment is ridiculous to me...racism is so real.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Charters that actually have some meaningful number of high SES or white families. I don't want my kid to be the ONLY white kid and at our IB, she would be one of about 4 white kids in the entire school. I see the way the other kids act on the playground and the bullying she would endure is not worth the effort of trying to make the school work. Hgiher SES kids tend to have significantly less behavioral problems. Another factor for charters that do have a higher number of AA or poor kids is the location. Is it clear that the parents have to make an effort to get their kids to school every day> That usually means the parents also give a damn about education.

This comment is ridiculous to me...racism is so real.

Yeah, I read that earlier, thought of about a 5 page rebuttal, considered that it's so ridiculous that maybe it's a troll, and then just left it alone.

I went to school with some very high SES (not just DC-lawyer/lobbyist high) kids. Many of the were dumb as rocks and bullies too. Even worse because they knew they could get away with a lot since their parents' donations paid for my scholarship and then some.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Charters that actually have some meaningful number of high SES or white families. I don't want my kid to be the ONLY white kid and at our IB, she would be one of about 4 white kids in the entire school. I see the way the other kids act on the playground and the bullying she would endure is not worth the effort of trying to make the school work. Hgiher SES kids tend to have significantly less behavioral problems. Another factor for charters that do have a higher number of AA or poor kids is the location. Is it clear that the parents have to make an effort to get their kids to school every day> That usually means the parents also give a damn about education.

This comment is ridiculous to me...racism is so real.

Yeah, I read that earlier, thought of about a 5 page rebuttal, considered that it's so ridiculous that maybe it's a troll, and then just left it alone.

I went to school with some very high SES (not just DC-lawyer/lobbyist high) kids. Many of the were dumb as rocks and bullies too. Even worse because they knew they could get away with a lot since their parents' donations paid for my scholarship and then some.

private preschool last year. All high ses with great parents. We had 16 kids, two of whom were problem kids (real problms - wouldn't listen, hit, bit pulled hair). It just looks different to people when it is poor balck kids doing it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Charters that actually have some meaningful number of high SES or white families. I don't want my kid to be the ONLY white kid and at our IB, she would be one of about 4 white kids in the entire school. I see the way the other kids act on the playground and the bullying she would endure is not worth the effort of trying to make the school work. Hgiher SES kids tend to have significantly less behavioral problems. Another factor for charters that do have a higher number of AA or poor kids is the location. Is it clear that the parents have to make an effort to get their kids to school every day> That usually means the parents also give a damn about education.

This comment is ridiculous to me...racism is so real.

Yeah, I read that earlier, thought of about a 5 page rebuttal, considered that it's so ridiculous that maybe it's a troll, and then just left it alone.

I went to school with some very high SES (not just DC-lawyer/lobbyist high) kids. Many of the were dumb as rocks and bullies too. Even worse because they knew they could get away with a lot since their parents' donations paid for my scholarship and then some.

private preschool last year. All high ses with great parents. We had 16 kids, two of whom were problem kids (real problms - wouldn't listen, hit, bit pulled hair). It just looks different to people when it is poor balck kids doing it.

public preschool last year where my son was one of only two white kids. one boy in the class was very disruptive and poorly behaved. guess what? he was the other white kid. his parents were lovely and had tried everything. behavioral problems aren't dictated by race or ses.